In the year 1907, all of Brampton is present at the sod-turning ceremony for the Carnegie Library. At the end of the event, the crowd rises as one to walk to the Presbyterian Church for a consecration service. Everyone except Jessie Stephens and her family. Her father will not allow them to enter the Presbyterian Church.

No one will tell young Jessie the reason, but she learns that it has something to do with her grandfather Jesse Brady, who built it. As she seeks to solve that mystery over many years, Jessie slowly begins to learn the history of the town in which she lives. Her tales of everyday life in small town Ontario combine to craft a vivid portrait of a life and a family that are, upon closer inspection, anything but ordinary.